DeepZenGo Downed Grandmaster Cho Chikun in Match 2

The face-off between DeepZenGo and Grandmaster Cho Chikun in Match 2 ended with the Japanese AI Go trouncing its human counterpart in a humiliating chuoshi or large margin, November 19. Cho blamed himself for a fatal move toward the end game which cost him a loss of tens of his white stones.

The match started off with the computer leading much of earlier stages, but soon Cho began pacing nicely to gradually turn the tide in his favor. Up until the fatal move, Cho had had a good chance of winning the second of the three scheduled matches with  AI DeepZenGo.

The DeepZenGo developer Kato commented:

"We're happy to have overwhelmed the formidable foe in the person of Grandmaster Cho. We're looking forward to the last and third match on November 23."
Asked for a comment following the setback, Grandmaster Cho grumbled:

"DeepZenGo is strong - perhaps stronger than I am...I was mistaken rushing my moves, too eager to win. I should have played calm and restrained. Losing such a big chain of stones is simply outrageous - doesn't make sense at all.

"I have to make sure to organize my play in such a way as to sensibly control my moves in the next match."

The computer Go has grown stronger after it learned AI technology. Earlier, Google's AlphaGo was already good enough to beat the Korean grandmaster. DeepZenGo' developers claim their machine would beat AlphaGo if at its level when that happened. 

It appears then that AlphaGo is still a step ahead of DeepZenGo in overall strength. But, at the end of the day, DeepZenGo might reign over AlphaGo and other AI-powered computer Go.

Meanwhile, Match 3 is coming up November 23. Whichever way the ball bounces, the Go world is eagerly watching for the outcome. You have my words for an extra coverage of the match  the moment it is over. (Nathan Shiga)